Our Project
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Widespread Community
The non-profit association of landowners promotes the restoration of the Collina di Napoleone / Hill of Napoleon (Monferrato) in the municipality of San Sebastiano da Po (Turin, Italy). The goal is to return to the ancient cultures of the territory, respecting the history and landscape of the places.
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Development Program
- Restoration of disused pedestrian walkways, with stone, tuff, bricks and dry stone walls, for access to visitors of Collina di Napoleone up to the belvedere of the Piana dei Militari and the Bricco Dolce, with the Church of Saints Vito and Bernardo (founded year 1100).
- Reorganization of the square of Bricco Dolce, and consolidation of the church of San Vito and Bernardo and its historic staircase.
- Cleaning of the Piana dei Militari, with the creation of an exploratory point, stage routes, and shelters for the exploration and sighting of birds, all of low environmental impact.
- Promotion of native cultures in the land (vineyards, orchards and beekeeping),
- Cleaning of the forest, maintaining native and valuable plants, with the use of traditional animals for cleaning the meadows and under the woods and providing for a possible production of milk, to restore the production of Tomino di Saronsella ('Traditional Agri-Food Products').
- Creation of wooden 'shelters' in the woods, with low environmental impact, to allow an experience in contact with nature, in collaboration with local trattorias to provide a 'merenda sinoira' and / or breakfast.
Positive Environmental and Social Impact
Problem to Solve
The post-war industrialization has led to an abandonment of the fathers' lands by the new generations and a consequent increase in hydrogeological risk, a marked reduction in economic activities and a consequent demographic collapse.
Community's Response
In line with ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) principles, the Project brings together land owners in an associative structure, whose proceeds will be reinvested in the territory, in order to create the infrastructure necessary for land reuse, with the dual objective of: (A) restore ancient cultures, benefiting from economies of scale and taking care of the aesthetic / panoramic aspect and (B) attract an Italian and northern European tourist flow, leveraging the history of Collina di Napoleone and enhancing the role of existing structures.
Vineyard as Identity
- Collina di Napoleone can benefit from the DOC denomination "Collina Torinese" for the Barbera, Freisa, Malvasia vines
- As proof of the historical role of viticulture, in the Castle of San Sebastiano there is a vast structure used for dyeing, a room where the vats that contained the grapes of the vineyards during the fermentation phase were stored.
- In addition, the historical memory tells that the wine of ancient grapes of local quality were transported by steamer to the Americas during the Piedmontese immigration of the late '800.